BOSTON--(뉴스와이어) 2018년 05월 16일 -- Cerveau Technologies Inc. today announced an agreement with the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Japan to support multiple projects over the next several years. These research projects are for studies of an early stage imaging agent (MK-6240) to be used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for assessing the status and progression of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. NFTs made up of aggregated tau protein are a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

As part of the agreement, Cerveau will contract with Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology to manufacture and supply the [18F]MK-6240 needed for initiatives in the Tokyo area.

According to Dr. Kenji Ishii, Head of Neuroimaging Research, at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, “This new generation of tau PET tracer will help us to understand the neuropathological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders in the living human brains. The clinical and clinico-pathological studies incorporating tau PET imaging techniques will strongly facilitate the development of disease modifying drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and taupathies.”

“Cerveau welcomes this opportunity to work with the researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology to understand the application of MK-6240 and how it may benefit patients with brain diseases. With Japan’s rapidly aging population, the challenge of Alzheimer’s Disease in this country is daunting. The collaboration with TMIG will provide access to our pharmaceutical partners in support of various therapy trials and support our global production network in Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Australia and the United States, as well as facilitate novel research at TMIG in the pursuit of evaluating potential preventive treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Rick Hiatt, President and CEO of Cerveau Technologies, Inc.

About Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology

Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) was established in 1972 along with Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital (TMGH) as the first integrated center for gerontology and geriatric medicine in Japan. The PET facility (TMIG PET Center) was founded in 1990 as an attachment of TMIG. Since then, TMIG PET Center conducted research mainly focused on aging and age-related disorders of the brain. Forty-eight PET tracers have been made available for the clinical PET studies and, among them, TMIG PET Center carried out nine first-in-human studies for brand new PET tracers. In 2013, TMIG PET Center moved to a new building and became equipped for GMP drug production. Recently, the main focus of TMIG PET Center has been on dementia research, collaborating with clinical neurology, psychiatry, neuroradiology, and neuropathology (brain bank) groups of TMGH and other hospitals, and participating in multi-center clinical research projects such as Japanese ADNI and DIAN-Japan, and many clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease.